Shattered Vault
by AldenofWolves8492
Summary: Daniel is a Titan. Formerly a soldier on Venus sent to hold off the Vex, he is found and reborn in Alaska on Earth. Ten Years pass as a Guardian when something straight out of legends opens up. The Vault of Glass. Now he must lead a fireteam of six into the Vault to recover the Ghosts of the fallen Guardians that have gone before him. Can they stand against the Vex within?
1. Prologue

_**Prologue**_

Captain James Meyers pressed the release button on the capsule display before standing up from his seat. Two other men were with him in the capsule as the capsule door began to hiss as the capsule matched the pressure outside. He grabbed an Assault rifle from a weapon rack built into the capsule wall and checked the weapon over before securing a vest with more ammo for the rifle to his spacesuit. He slid down the visor on his helmet as the capsule lit up with a bright green LED light.

The capsule door slid open and light spilled into the capsule's cramped space. Meyers stepped out and dropped down on to the red dust of the planet surface. Dunes of reddish dust swirled and went on for miles in every direction.

"Men. Congratulations. We're the first men to ever step foot on the Martian surface," Meyers beamed with pride. Two years of training alongside his men had accumulated to this moment.

"Great. So now what sir?" Replied one of Meyer's men. The youngest of them at 32, Lieutenant Rory Weston had spent a decade in the British Air Force as a fighter pilot. He tended to be brash at times but Meyers understood.

"Time to explore, Rory. Eyes open everyone," Replied Meyers.

"What are we looking for, sir," Replied Lieutenant Johnson, Meyers other man. "Little green men?"

Rory laughed at Johnson's joke but Meyers only let a smirk touch his lips.

"Not this time, Johnson. Just here to map the area. Now come on. We've got a lot of ground to cover."

The next few hours Meyers and his men climbed dune after dune of Martian ground. Four hours passed before they stopped for a break. Meyers sat down on a large rock and pressed a button on his suit's system interface on his wrist. A needle jabbed into his arm and a supplement began to flow into his system. The supplement was mostly nutrients meant to keep the user hydrated and staved off hunger long enough to get back to the landing capsule to get real food into their systems.

"I think there's a problem with my suit, sir," Rory sheepishly said over his comlink.

"What is it, Rory?" Meyers wasn't worried about any problems with the suit. They had all triple checked each other's suits before leaving the capsule. Rory was just trying to relieve the stress of the miles long trek.

"There appears to be a large-scale invasion of sand into my trouser area."

"Dammit, Rory. Keep the jokes to a minimal. This is serious," Meyers replied. He knew the kid had good intentions, but this was truly a serious operation for all of them.

"We should get moving again, sir," Johnson cut in. "Nightfall on Mars is only six hours away and it'll take us four to get back to the capsule."

"Johnson's right." Meyers stood up and began to climb up a large dune. "Won't be long before we have to head ba-"

"Sir?" Johnson turned to see Meyers was at the top of the dune, staring out at something.

"Get up here now," was Meyers' reply.

"What is it, sir." Asked Rory in a voice mocking Johnson's heavy use of the word sir when referring to Meyers. "More damn dus-." Rory stopped like Meyers when he reached the top.

Johnson reached the top of the dune last and was awestruck by what was hovering above a barren plain of dust.

A giant orb of the purest white hovered serenely there, unmoving.

"Someone get Houston on the line. Let them know. We've found something."

The giant orb discovered floating over Mars proved more than just an orb of unknown origin. It was the Traveler.

A sentient machine being made of Light. The Traveler made its way to Earth with the astronauts that had discovered it. There it ushered in a Golden Age for all of humanity. Life spans tripled, technology advanced by incredible leaps and bounds, and space exploration flourished as colonies were established on the Moon. Then Venus and Mercury and finally Mars. Decades passed and human civilization made itself the rulers of the Inner Solar System. Until the Darkness arrived.

The Darkness was not an actual being but a force like the Traveler's Light. Races that served the Darkness emerged across the Solar system and began to attack humanity wherever it was. Planet after planet was plunged into Darkness. First Mars fell to the Cabal, a military race of creatures of unbelievable size and strength. Then vile machines known as the Vex turned Mercury into a machine. An entire planet became a machine in days, then they turned their eye on Venus. And the Moon opened up to release its terrible secret, the Hive. The primitively advanced Hive destroyed the Lunar colonies and drove humanity from its surface. Then the Fallen came and began to scavenge what they could from Venus and the Moon. The Space pirates grew restless and attacked humanity's last stronghold in the Solar System, Earth. Backed by the Darkness the Fallen rolled through humanity. Sensing the impending loss the Traveler sacrificed itself to protect humanity, driving the Darkness from the Inner Solar System. Only one city survived the Darkness's onslaught.

In its dying breaths the Traveler created the Ghosts. Small constructs of Light that would serve as the companions of an emerging force, The Guardians. Three kinds of Guardians emerged.

The Titans were the strongest of the Guardians in their suits of armor like knights of old. Once soldiers from across the Solar System, they built the wall that surrounds the Last City in months. An effort that should have taken years and thousands of workers and machines was done in months by the first Titans.

The Warlocks were the smartest of the Guardians in their robes and cryptic helmets. Once scholars and professors, they sought to learn the secrets of the Golden Age in all its past glory and display it for the new world to see what had been.

Then there was the Hunters, the most cunning and agile of Guardians. They were once outlaws and survivalists that learned to transform the Traveler's light into something to help them survive, now they serve as scouts and recon experts for other Guardians that always find a way past a problem.

Many legends developed as decades passed. One of the most legendary was the Vault of Glass. A vault of Vex machinery and horrors that has claimed the lives of many Guardians before sealing itself for over a century. But the Vault has reopened. Now more will be claimed by the Vault. But six will stand against the Vault and find their destiny within. The Vex can control time, but can these Guardians show that they have control of their destiny?


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Rebirth

_Three men moved in silence in the near darkness. A fourth lay motionless on a cot nearby. Outside the tent the sound of ships taking off and men and women running around was near ear deafening levels. The men were putting on armor over compression suits and began arming up with advanced assault rifles. One finished before the others and walked over to the man on the cot. HE shook the man gently at first but began to shake harder when he wouldn't wake. _

"_C'mon, LT. We've got to get moving," he shouted over his comlink._

_The man pushed the other off and picked himself up off the cot. He began to armor up like the others while they exited the tent. He grabbed an assault rifle off a rack the others had taken theirs from and made to leave but stopped at his cot. There was a wallet on the ground next to the cot. He bent down and picked up the wallet and opened it. Inside, the wallet was empty except for a picture of a woman and two kids. His wife and kids. They were on Earth now, running from the onslaught on Venus by the Darkness._

_He had stayed behind to make sure as many people as possible could get off world. It was the cost of being a Planetary Defense Soldier. He had to give up a ride home with his family in order to do his job but he held no regrets. Screams of terror echoed from outside and he turned to run outside. Several transports loading people were still grounded nearby and people were running about, mostly from the West. He turned to see several Vex Goblins there shooting into the masses of people with their slap rifles. Several PDSs were already there in their green and grey armor engaging the enemy. _

_He ran to join his brothers in arms. The crowds slowed him down but he did his best to keep running through. He finally reached his men after what seemed like an eternity and raised his rifle. He began to drop the enemy Goblins one at a time. Two went down before he had to reload. One PDS next to him suddenly dropped as a solid bolt of red cut through him. _

_Someone yelled out Hobgoblin and everyone found cover. The deadly Sniper versions of the lesser Goblins with their line rifles were deadly to anyone that was hit by their solar rounds. Smoke grenades were tossed out and clouds of thick, grey smoke began to unfurl from the canisters. _

_Daniel took a void grenade from his belt and pressed a button on the side. The grenade began to vibrate and Daniel lobbed it over his cover at a group of Goblins. The Grenade passed over them and suddenly veered down and stuck to a Goblin's head. It detonated once shredding several Goblins and detonated a second time, frying even more. _

_Daniel's cover exploded in a purple haze and sent him flying. His world began to spin before him. He felt a vicelike grip on his chest and found himself being hauled up. A red eye peeked out at him from the smoke ad soon one of the massive Minotaurs the Vex liked emerged as the smoke cleared. Daniel pulled a knife from his thigh and jammed it into the servo joint of the Minotaur's arm. The Minotaur dropped Daniel and he pulled his knife from its arm. He lunged at and stuck his knife in right below its head. The Minotaur became enraged and flung Daniel by his legs away. Daniel hit the ground hard and nearly lost consciousness. A red eye came into his view and he feared the Minotaur had come back to finish him off. Instead it was a Goblin but nothing was changed. Its intention was very much the same as the Minotaurs. _

_Daniel felt a searing pain in his gut and the world faded as a blurry form approached and tried to revive Daniel. Muttered words were exchanged but nothing registered in Daniel's mind. Only pain filled his head._

* * *

><p>Alaska, Earth<p>

A small construct made of eight pyramid like pieces centered on a small, black orb with a blue eye hovered over a skeleton in the city morgue of Fairbanks. Snow spilled in through a hole in the ceiling. A tag on the skeleton's foot said very little about him

Daniel Weston

PDS-V

C.O.D: Goblin Slap Rifle

The construct's frame shifted and moved as it analyzed the skeleton.

"Can it really be? This far out?" the construct said with its robotic voice.

It burst apart around a blue orb and the pieces of the construct began to float around the edges of the orb. A beam scanned the skeleton one last time before the construct came back together.

The skeleton disappeared in a blue light and was replaced by a body dressed in green and grey armor that was formfitting and very thin. The body began to cough violently and rolled off the morticians table.

The man picked himself up using the table as a support when his legs nearly collapsed under him. He finally steadied himself and began to feel himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. The last thing he remembered was a Goblin killing him. Now he was… Where was he?

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Guardian."

Daniel turned his head to see the little, hovering construct that had revived him. He had seen hovering servant droids before on Venus but nothing like this one. And what did he mean when he said Guardian? He had been a PDS on Venus but no one ever called PDSs Guardians.

"I'm not a Guardian. I'm a PDS from Venus. Lieutenant Daniel Weston, 3rd battalion assigned to Venus after the Vex invasion. Where am I?" Daniel asked the little construct.

"You used to be a PDS. Now you're a Guardian. And you are in Fairbanks, Alaska on Earth. We are deep in Fallen territory so it is best we move before they find us," the construct replied, its eye never leaving Daniel.

"What are you? I've never seen a robot like you before. And what do you mean by Fallen territory? And what am I wearing?" asked Daniel, looking at the armor he wore.

"I'm a Ghost. To be correct I'm your Ghost now. Now I can answer your questions but we need to get somewhere safe first, away from the Fallen. There is an airport nearby that should have some Jumpships available if the Fallen haven't scavenged them already. Come on. We need to get moving," the Ghost replied.

"Alright. Lead the way."

"Give me a moment. Stand still." The Ghost disappeared in a blue shimmer. "Don't worry. I'm still with you. Head to the marker I'm displaying to your HUD. And keep an eye on motion tracker on the top left of your display. It'll help to avoid the Fallen."

Daniel walked along the broken down road that ran down Fairbanks. Wrecked cars were at the sides of the road and thick layers of snow coated everything.

"Did Venus fall to the Darkness?" Daniel asked his Ghost.

"Yes. The Vex conquered it within weeks of landing. Then the Fallen came and began salvaging."

"And Earth?"

"It almost fell. Most of it did until the Traveler sacrificed itself. Now the Fallen cover most of the Earth and are scavenging anything they can."

Daniel continued to follow the road until he left the city limits. There he left the road and made his way into the woods upon recommendation from his Ghost.

"So how many months has it been?"

"Since the Earth fell? Over 4,000 months have passed since the fall of Earth and the death of the Traveler."

"Wait. What? You mean to tell me that Earth has been lost for over 4000 months? That has to be over 400 years! Earth was still standing when that Goblin shot me. That means that it's been over 400 year since I was shot. Was I put in Cryo after I got shot?"

"No. You died on Venus over 400 years ago and was transported here to be shipped back to your family. You never made it past here when the Darkness lay siege to Earth."

"So you mean I've been dead for 400 years. Well that's a bit of a world shaker."

Daniel spent the next hour asking his Ghost about everything that had occurred since his death. Eventually the woods he traveled through began to thin out. Eventually the woods disappeared entirely and a complex sprawled before him, broken down aircraft lay everywhere and a building lay near the center. A Fallen Skiff was hovering near the far edge of the complex.

"Looks like the Fallen are here. We'll need to get you a weapon if you're going to make it past them and find a ship. My scans show there is a weapon in a gun safe in the administration building. There also appears to be a sizable Fallen presence throughout the airport."

Daniel nodded his head and stretched his arms. According to his Ghost there were field drivers in his armor that gave him higher levels of strength, enough to break the skulls of the Fallen if needed.

He approached the rusted chain-link fence and began to tear apart the rusted links. He tore open the fence and passed through the narrow gap. Broken down wrecks of ships from the Golden Age lay everywhere in rusting piles. Daniel picked his way through the wrecks, heading for the new marker his Ghost had displayed. A red tick appeared on the left side of the tracker and Ghost told him to stop and find cover. Several more ticks appeared and they were heading in Daniel's direction. The ticks came closer and closer until they were almost on top of his position on the tracker. The innermost circle on the tracker began to flash red and Daniel heard footsteps from his hiding place under a Jumpship that was missing its engines and most of the cockpit.

Three sets of legs appeared in Daniel's view, one was larger than the rest and was in the lead while the others followed, moving from side to side, probably searching for spare parts. The larger legs belonged to a Vandal judging by the Wire Rifle Daniel saw swinging back and forth as the legs strolled. The others were Dregs, the lowliest of the Fallen and only given very basic weapons. One on one they were easy to take down but a group could cause problems. And the Vandal's Wire Rifle would be a problem too. One or two shots and Daniel would be done. Best he let them pass and keep going undetected.

The Fallen passed and Daniel emerged from his cover. He resumed his path to the building, avoiding another patrol on his way. The building was single story and covered in snow like everything else Daniel had seen. Not once had he felt cold. According to his Ghost, his armor could change its temperature to keep him comfortable no matter the conditions. The door leading in was covered in rust and was nearly coming off the hinges. Daniel pushed on the hinges and one by one they broke. He took the door by the handle and pushed it in. he set the door against the inside wall and checked the inside of the building. His Ghost appeared and shone a bright a light to reveal all that was before Daniel. There was a couple of skeletons inside gathered around a flashlight and shell casings lay rusting on the ground. Another skeleton sat in a chair in the corner with a broken bottle in one hand and a pistol in the other.

Daniel lowered his in respect to the dead before his Ghost let him know the weapon was in the next room. Daniel opened the door and entered a small office. A large, green safe lay on its side next to a flipped over desk, papers were strewn everywhere and snow was spilling in from a broken window. There was an electronic lock on the safe that didn't look like it still worked but Ghost said he could get it working. He appeared in front of the safe and began to shoot beams of blue light into the lock. It came to life and after a few moments the safe door popped open.

Daniel opened the door all the way and reached inside. There was several thousand dollars inside the safe along with property deeds and a shattered glass miniature. He continued to feel around until he found a heavy revolver inside. The hand cannon was wrapped in oilpaper and was almost sparkling new. Daniel pressed the cylinder release and checked the cylinder. Empty. There was a box of rounds inside the box and Daniel put six into the cylinder chambers. His Ghost scanned and transmatted the rest into storage for later use. Daniel closed the cylinder and put the hand cannon into the holster on the back of his waist.

"Ok. We've got me a weapon. Now where is there a ship here?" Daniel asked his Ghost who split apart to scan the area. My scan show a faint engine signature from a still functioning Jumpship nearby, about 200 yards away. They also show a mild Fallen presence in our vicinity and heading in our direction," his robotic companion replied.

Almost as if on cue, a bolt of lightning passed mere inches from Daniel's face. Several more bolts passed through the window and Daniel ducked down to avoid them.

"They've found us!" His Ghost shouted through his helmet.

"Thanks for the update," Daniel replied sarcastically as he drew his hand cannon. Time to fight back.

Daniel waited until the shots stopped coming through the window and popped up. Three Dregs and a Vandal were in cover behind a concrete barrier and a fourth Dreg was heading for the door. Daniel dropped him with two shots to the chest and ducked back as a hail of electric shots peppered the window. Daniel waited until the hail stopped and repeated what he did last time. Popped up, two rounds into a Dreg and back down. This time a hail did not come but a red tick appeared on his motion tracker. One was making a dash for the door. Daniel rushed from the office to the next room and fired as a Dreg came through the door. He reloaded his hand cannon and waited for more to come. A grenade icon came across his display and a spike grenade flew past the door and landed in the middle of the room. Daniel jumped outside and landed at the feet of the Dreg and Vandal as the grenade detonated, arcing electricity into the room. Daniel looked up as the Vandal fired his Shock Rifle into Daniel at point blank range. Daniel lay unmoving as his Ghost appeared and split apart. It turned for a moment before reforming and Daniel's body disappeared.

A bright flash emerged from the office and Daniel landed on the floor, gasping for air.

"What just happened?" he asked, trying to regain his breath. His Ghost appeared before him.

"You were killed by that Vandal but I revived you. I can revive you if you die but if you die in a Darkness zone then the only way you're coming back is if someone else revives you."

"Good to know. Now let's finish them off."

"Technically that's your job," his Ghost said before disappearing.

Daniel poked his head outside the window and saw the Vandal and Dreg were searching their fallen comrades for anything they were carrying. The Dreg was closer and the Vandal was working on its rifle, apparently the shock core had been fried and it was trying to replace it.

Daniel carefully climbed through the window and crouched down. He slowly approached the Dreg from behind and wrapped his arm around its neck. He whipped the Dreg around and used it as a shield. The Vandal heard the movement and turned as three rounds buried themselves into his chest. He was knocked back and his rifle fell from his grip. Daniel broke the Dreg's neck and tossed the body aside. He turned as the Vandal tackled him. The Vandal was on top of Daniel and began raining down its four arms on his head and chest. Daniel tried blocking attacks but he had only two arms to its four. The Vandal then pinned his arms to the ground and began to choke him with his free hands. Daniel struggled to free himself but the Vandal's grip was iron. He tried to buck it off and the grip on his left arm weakened. He lashed out at its head and connected. The Vandal rolled off Daniel and soon found himself under the Titan. He brought down his arms on the Vandal's head until it stopped moving.

Daniel stood up and put his hands on his knees. Sweat was coming down his brow inside his helmet and his armor was covered in the Vandal's blood. He retrieved his revolver and replaced the spent casings with fresh rounds. His Ghost directed him to the Jumpship and he left the building behind him. No doubt more Fallen would be coming to reinforce the Vandal's patrol. They would only find the dead.

The Jumpship was an Arcadian class cruiser and covered in cables and rust. The Fallen had apparently overlooked most of the ship except the weapons and stabilizers were mostly gone, either rusted off or taken by the scavengers. Daniel's Ghost said it should be enough to get them to the Tower where a technician could repair the damage. It accessed the ship's systems and started the engines. Daniel was transmatted into the ship and it rose into the air, shaking lose the loose wires and snow it had accumulated over the years. Several Fallen in the airport noticed the take-off and watched as the ship headed into orbit.


	3. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2: Ten years later**_

Daniel had the crate under his legs kicked out and his helmet went clattering to the ground. Daniel shot up from his chair and scanned around for a threat.

"Oh relax, Guardian. And wake the hell up. Your ship's ready."

Daniel turned to face the Tower's shipwright, Amanda Holliday. She cared for and repaired all the Sparrows and Jumpships the Guardians used. Daniel had brought his in a few hours ago after a Vex Hobgoblin had gotten a lucky shot off and nearly brought his ship down on Mars. He barely made it back to the Tower before the ship's port engine gave out. He had taken a seat and had put up his legs on a crate while she and her crew set to work.

"Thanks, Holliday. Man it would suck if you weren't around to repair our ships," Daniel replied, taking out a container he had clipped to his belt. He handed the container to Holliday and she opened it. A bright blue light appeared and she closed it.

"And it would suck a lot less if you Guardians stopped wrecking your ships. It takes a lot to repair those things you know. But at least the pay's good," she put the container full of Glimmer on a table and handed Daniel a data pad to sign off on the repairs.

"See ya soon, Holliday," Daniel replied as he handed her the pad, picked up his helmet and left

"Better not. Or I'll let one of the new guys handle the repairs," she shouted as Daniel strolled calmly out of the Tower South and back into the Tower Plaza. Daniel went past the Cryptarch and the vaults where Guardians could store items and approached the Postmaster. The robotic Postmaster asked for Daniel's identification and he recited the identification he had been given the first day he had stepped foot in the Tower.

"Good day, Guardian Daniel. There is a notice here for you from Commander Zavala wishing to see you as soon as possible."

"Alright," Daniel replied, "Anything else?"

"No, Guardian Daniel."

"Thank you, Kari."

Daniel headed down the steps descending into the Hall of Guardians and walked past the Crucible handler and quartermaster and past the Warlock and Hunter Vanguards to the Titan Vanguard, Commander Zavala. The Awoken Titan had no hair upon his blue scalp and his red and white armor made him a very intimidating person, even more so as the man was a good few inches taller than Daniel's six foot frame.

"You wished to see me, Commander Zavala?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, Daniel. You are to report to the Speaker at once," Zavala replied in his booming voice.

Daniel's heart began to race. The Speaker? Why would the Speaker want to see him?

"I swear, sir. It wasn't me that was racing his Sparrow through the City streets again. It was that new Hunter they found a couple weeks ago," Daniel replied, defending himself unnecessarily.

"No, no. It's not about that. He has an assignment for you. Now report to him. I'll talk to Cayde-6 about what you said though," Zavala replied, walking around the table to the Exo Hunter Vanguard.

Daniel quickly walked from the Hall and to the Tower North. The Speaker was a very unusual individual but highly respected by all as the prophet and voice of the Traveler. He gave out the extra important assignments, the ones that posed an immediate threat to the Traveler that still floated over the City and the City itself.

Daniel entered the Star room that served as the Speaker's office and personal quarters and saw the Speaker was speaking to several other Guardians already. One was an Awoken Warlock named Jonah in purple Eclipse Maw robes with cropped white hair, another was a Human Warlock in red and white New Monarchy robes named John with black hair combed back. There was also a male Exo Hunter without any antennas like most Exos in blue and orange Ghost Angel gear named Caine-8. There was also a female Titan leaning against a wall in purple and turquoise Armada armor with blonde hair tied back in a ponytail named Tatyana. She intimidated Daniel a bit as she was known as the BladeAngel because of her ability to be stunning and deadly with blades that were hidden in her gauntlets. Daniel's Monitor gear was blue and yellow in design but his helmet had a purple faceplate, a gift from the Awoken Queen, marking him as one of her personal guard like twenty-nine other Guardians. The Speaker turned to see Daniel and broke from the conversation he was in.

"Good to see you are here, Daniel. We just need to wait for one more Hunter. Here she comes now," the Speaker looked past Daniel to see the approaching Hunter.

Daniel turned to see a Hunter in Blue and Grey Dust walker armor named Karen with blue, black and green hair cut in a style similar to the Shipwright's. Daniel gave her a quick hug as she approached. They had arrived at the Tower for the very first time on the same day only minutes apart. They had been friends since those first few moments and constantly worked together on assignments. She was always changing her hair when she had the chance. That first day she had short brown hair and the very next day her hair was black and white in a pixie cut.

"Now that you are all here, I will tell you your assignment," the Speaker intoned in the way he liked to when he was about to be serious.

They all gathered around the Speaker as he brought an image of Venus up.

"You all know about the Vault of Glass I assume. Well according to reports we've received from Hunters in the area a previously sealed area of a Vex ruin has opened up and they began to explore the inside. They met a heavy Vex presence and we lost contact soon after. Two other fireteams were sent in after them and we lost them in similar fashions. We finally sent a six man fireteam to discover what happened. This was the last message we received from their leader, Jotren-9," the Speaker brought up a message and pressed play.

A tinny sound came from a speaker that was broadcasting the message and soon an Exo voice came over the speaker.

"To the Speaker. If you are receiving this then we are dead. Repeat. We. Are. Dead. The Vex were too strong for us. I'm the only one still standing," the voice was breathing heavily over the speaker. "Dammit! They've found me! You'll never take me you robotic bas-"

Joekn-12's words were cut off by the sound of Slap Rifles firing and the sound of a thud followed. Clearly the Vex didn't plan on taking him either. The transmission ended and the Speaker lowered his head.

"So what exactly is it that you want us to do, Speaker?" asked Daniel, he shifted his feet a bit. He had a sinking feeling in his gut that he knew what the Speaker wanted them to do.

"Normally I would decree that the Vault be forbidden territory for all Guardians but there was something that was transmitted a couple of hours after Joken's death that bodes ill for us all."

The Speaker pressed another button and another transmission was broadcasted.

This time the message started with a blood curdling scream. The scream subsided and was followed by the sound of Vex machinery.

"Can you damn machines not understand me? I don't know anything!" a female voice cried from the speaker. More mechanical sounds followed and the woman screamed again. The Speaker stopped the transmission and turned to face the Guardians.

"We believe that to be one of the Hunters with Joken's team. We need you to go in and retrieve her Ghost and any other Ghosts you can find in there. You'll leave for Venus tomorrow morning and Daniel as the fireteam leader will report in every four hours once you are on the surface. Take this time to stock up on any supplies you may need. Be careful Guardians. Too many Guardians have been claimed by the Vault already. We cannot afford to lose six more," the Speaker touched Daniel's shoulder and ascended the stairs to his workstation.

The Guardians dispersed and Daniel reached his hand to the Cryptic Dragon scout rifle on his back and released a deep breath. He had done some dangerous things but never had he imagined he would crawl into the most dangerous place on Venus. Tomorrow was going to be a rough one.


	4. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3: The Spire**_

The Vex ruins were large and foreboding as Daniel and his team transmatted onto the surface of Venus. Machines ran was all there was underfoot and everything was covered in thick vegetation. Spirit Blooms were everywhere, pulsing slowly in their crystalline shells.

Daniel sent everyone in a search pattern, looking for a way to open the large door set into the largest of the machine-ruins. He used his suit thrusters to ascend to a large outcropping that jutted off a plateau and scanned the area through his rifle's scope. Tatyana and Jonah were checking out a Vex Sync Plate in front of the door while Karen and John were checking out another Sync Plate to the far left of the door at ground level.

"Hey, Daniel," Caine-8's robotic voice called out over a private com channel, "Check this out. Another Sync Plate."

Daniel turned and sure enough there was a Sync Plate a few meters from him. Caine-8 was analyzing the Sync Plate when Jonah called opened up a team wide channel.

"Hey everyone. Check this out," Jonah sounded excited as he did when he discovered how some piece of machinery worked. Daniel turned and saw that he was standing in the center of the Plate. The Plate hummed to life and Vex energy began to flow upwards, building a waist high wall of the energy. Tatyana passed her hand through the wall to see if it was solid and a low rumble emanated from behind Daniel. He turned to see a cluster of nonbaryonic streams were forming a cluster on a small raised platform. Slowly they began to form a square on the ground before beginning to build upwards at a snail's pace.

"Try activating more of them. It may make this thing form faster," Daniel ordered over the channel and received confirmations from the team. Caine-8 stepped onto the plate and, like at the center plate, a wall of energy formed. As he suspected the streams began to build faster and soon the base for a Spire formed. Discharges sounded from the center Plate and Daniel turned to see a Praetorian, a more powerful version of a Minotaur, was advancing toward the center plate.

"Contact! Praetorian heading for the center. Eyes open for more! The Vex know we're here," Daniel broadcast over the com channel before scanning for more Vex. Sure enough a bright light appeared behind him and a smoke cloud followed. He switched to his Suros void shotgun and readied a magnetic grenade. He saw Caine ready his exotic sniper rifle, Patience and Time, as a Praetorian emerged from the smoke. Caine fired two rounds into the Praetorian's head as Daniel closed the distance with his shotgun. He fired two shells into the Praetorian and stripped away its void shield, leaving it exposed. He fired two more rounds into its legs and brought it to its knees. The Praetorian bat aside Daniel as he moved to finish the Praetorian off and got back to its feet. It advanced towards Caine-8 with its Torch Hammer readying to fire. Caine-8 fired the last couple rounds of his magazine into the Praetorian but it continued to advance. He pulled out the empty magazine to replace it when the rifle was ripped from his grip. The Praetorian raised its arm high to bring it down but faltered as Daniel charged into it from behind. He brought up his shotgun and fired the last round into the Praetorian's head. The Praetorian fell and lay unmoving. Daniel tossed Caine his rifle and checked his comlink for an update from the rest of the team.

John and Karen had taken out two Praetorians already and were handling their position well. Tatyana and Jonah had lost their plate to a Praetorian but were close to reclaiming it. Daniel ordered Caine to provide cover for them as he unslung his exotic rocket launcher Truth and loaded three rockets into it. Time to rain down heavy fire on the Praetorians. A Praetorian began rushing at Daniel's plate from the opposite approach and he fired two rockets into the Praetorian. Caine followed the rockets with two shots from his rifle and the Praetorian fell. The presence of the Praetorians was a good indication they were doing something right and soon the Plates were being constantly sieged by the Vex. The frame of the Spire was almost five stories tall when the streams stopped moving upwards. Now a light emerged at the bottom of the base. Metal began to form and the actual Spire began to form.

"Keep it up, guys. We're almost there now!" Daniel shouted across the comchannel. He never stopped firing his scout rifle. The Praetorians were being backed up by Goblins and Hobgoblins with an occasional Harpy tagging along every now and then. His rocket launcher and shotgun were fully out of ammo and he had only two more mags for his scout rifle. His rifle clicked on an empty chamber and he thumbed the release on his rifle. The magazine clattered to the ground and a new one replaced it. He pulled back the charging handle and scanned around. There were no more Vex.

All the plates were being held and everyone was up. The Spire had reached the top of the frame and the frame disappeared. A blinding light shot from the Spire and struck the center of the large, circular door. Daniel was collecting scattered ammo from the ground when a deep rumble emanate from the door. It began to shift and turn and Daniel ordered everyone to form up on the door. Everyone grouped up as the door parted and revealed a stone-machine passageway that led deeper into the ruins. The door finally cleared and everyone stepped into the passage together. Tatyana stopped and noticed there was writing on the wall covered in blood and dust.

Tatyana summoned her Ghost and asked it to analyze the writing and pick out what it said. The Ghost scanned the writing and processed it.

"The writing says '_Beware the Trials of Kabr'_," his Ghost finally spat out before disappearing.

"Kabr? Ain't that the Titan that went a little crazy and tried to brave this place alone?" asked Caine-8, adjusting the sheath that held his Hunter knife.

"Yeah. Legends say that the armor he forged in here is still here for a lucky Titan to find. Best you and Tatyana keep an eye out for it then huh," commented John, he always had a deep interest in the legends of the Solar System.

"Probably. Let's keep moving. We need to get in and out as fast as possible. We don't know what's down here and it's probably for the best that we don't," Daniel ordered, summoning his Ghost, "Begin transmission to Speaker. Time for an update." The Ghost opened a channel and Daniel began to retell what had happened outside with the Spire. He finished the transmission and sent away his Ghost.

"Let's keep moving. This is amazing," Jonah begged. He was practically drooling through his helmet at the technology that surrounded him.

"Yeah, no telling how deep we'll have to go into the ruins. Eyes open everyone. No telling how many Vex are down here with us," Daniel agreed. He was getting a sinking feeling in his gut as they continued downward. The path was taking them downward and into Venus itself and he couldn't shake a feeling they were being watched by a million eyes. He checked his rifle and felt a rough tug and was jerked back. He turned to see Tatyana's helmet staring at him with its blank expression before she told him to watch where he was going. Daniel turned to see that he had nearly walked right over the edge of a cliff and down into a deep chasm. Daniel gulped silently and thanked Tatyana before continuing on. Anything Vex always gave him a bad feeling and cast a haze on his thoughts. His side burned where he had been shot centuries ago by that Goblin. It always burned in the presence of Vex tech. Lots of other Guardians reported the same thing happening when near the thing responsible for their original death. Daniel couldn't help but think back to his final moments on Venus. The smoke in the air. The burning in his gut. The world as he faded into death.

"What do we have here," Karen mused as she moved aside vines to reveal a weathered chest, a set of faint green lights shining on the lid. A passageway led off one way and the end of the platform they were on led down into the bottomless chasm of Venus's interior. The drop was almost vertigo inducing and Daniel's stomach churned a bit as he neared the edge.

Karen tried to open the chest but a lock held firm. Caine-8 shot the lock off and opened the lid. He reached inside and pulled out two capsules of boiling hot zero-point energy known as Ascendant Energy from within. The black capsules full of the boiling red liquid were key in upgrading weapons and Caine immediately set to work upgrading his sniper rifle. Everyone reached in and pulled out either a pair or more of the capsules or a pair or more of the bright, white plates known as Ascendant Shards.

Daniel checked his chronometer and saw it was well into the night on Venus. He ordered for a camp to be made so that they could spend the night upgrading and restocking in anticipation of what lay ahead. Daniel sat down on the ground and began to disassemble his scout rifle, checking each part for wear and tear before reassembling his rifle and repeating the process with his other weapons, trading his shotgun for the Dead Orbit fusion rifle he carried as a mid-range backup to his shotgun. The Final Rest II was a slow firing fusion rifle by any standard but it was devastating against most targets, especially against Vex targets.

Caine had set up a battle lantern in the center of the platform, its red light faintly bathing everything in its soft glow. Tatyana volunteered to take the first watch and John volunteered to join her. Daniel shook his head. He knew what John was trying to do. He couldn't take his eyes off the beautiful Russian since the mission started. Daniel thought about getting him to focus but chose to just let it slide for now. Everyone else set themselves up against a wall with their weapons ready as John and Tatyana covered both approaches to their camp. Daniel set his rifle facing Tatyana's approach and let sleep wash over him, his head falling to his side as it did.

_Feet pounded the ground and screams were deafening Daniel. The scene was mayhem and he couldn't see a thing through the smoke. He was moving on sound alone. Red eyes glared at him through the smoke, just one to each faint outline of a body. He was unarmed and just kept running. He stumbled on something and fell, his face inches from a fallen PDS. The PDS was barely breathing and needed a stim if he was going to survive. He pulled the helmet off and stopped as he saw the face. It was his own staring up at him covered in blood and dust despite the helmet. The other him grabbed his arm and Daniel tried to break free,_

"_Listen to me! They're coming. Run! Run!" The other Daniel shouted as everything began to fade. _

Daniel jerked from his sleep and saw Jonah was holidng down his arm. His PDS knife was in it and there was fresh blood on it. Daniel saw there was a tear in Jonah's robes and his arm was bleeding slightly.

"You have them too? The terrors?" Jonah asked, releasing Daniel's arm.

Daniel wiped the blood off the blade and sheathed it before answering.

"Yes I do. Have ever since I was reborn in Alaska. They're at their worst when Vex are close by."

"Same here. I died on Earth at the hands of an Archon Priest," Jonah rubbed his arm where Daniel had sliced him. The cut had already stopped bleeding and started healing. Guardians had an accelerated rate of healing because of the Light in them.

"An Archon Priest?" Daniel knew about the behemoths and their massive guns but they were rare and deaths at their hands were even rarer.

"Yeah. I was teaching a class at some university in New York when the bastard blew a hole in the wall. No one knew how he'd gotten so close but he did and massacred everyone in the room and eventually the University. I hid in a supply room during the initial attack but he found me. The pain as he killed me with that rifle of his. It felt like I was being ripped apart molecule by molecule. The terrors come and go but I've gotten better at controlling them. Although my first night at the Tower was pretty rough. The terrors were so bad they needed three Titans just to hold me down. Another two to administer a sedative. It helps to be a lucid dreamer. Take control of your dreams rather than the other way around," Jonah finished, leaning back and returning to sleep. Daniel checked his chronometer and stood up. He grabbed his rifle and decided to replace John on watch. He saw Karen had already replaced Tatyana but no one had replaced John yet. He tapped John on the shoulder and sent him away to get some sleep. Daniel took John's place on a rock and sat with his rifle across his lap. Daybreak was three hours off but they wouldn't be able to tell in the dark ruins.

Daniel felt a tap on his shoulder and jumped a little before resting as he saw it was Karen.

"Shouldn't you be watching your approach?" Daniel asked, adjusting his position so Karen could take a seat on the rock too.

"Caine-8 just relieved me. Said he was growing restless. Damn Exos never sleep after all," she replied, setting down the Exotic hand cannon Thorn that she loved to use.

"Well then you should get some rest. We move in four hours."

"I will but I just wanted to check on you. I heard you and Jonah talking. And I also heard him whimper like a puppy when you cut him up with that little knife of yours," she joked. Hunters always made fun of any knife that wasn't as big as the monsters they had sheathed at their hips.

"Do you have the terrors too?" Daniel asked shyly. Most Guardians preferred to keep any weaknesses to themselves especially Hunters.

"No. I was lucky and was killed instantly when a Hive Knight brought his sword down on me. Still hurts though. Can feel it from my left shoulder to my right hip. Must have been real nasty," she replied, rubbing her shoulder.

"Well get some sleep. You'll need all the sleep you can get for whatever's in there."

"Whatever you say."

She walked away with Thorn in her hands and found a place against a wall covered in vines to sleep.

Daniel leaned back against the rock and waited for daybreak to come.


	5. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4: The Confluxes **_

Daniel picked his way across the platforms, dropping down safely with his thrusters as the fireteam made their way down through the passage. It had widened out and large platforms led the way down but everyone had to be careful not to slip and fall to the bottom far below.

Daniel landed on a final platform that led to a ledge that overlooked a large area built around another large door like the one outside the ruins but smaller. There were broken bodies of the Vex everywhere and Daniel saw a Titan helmet on a platform down below.

The fireteam gathered and Daniel gave them a plan. Tatyana and John would head left to a small clearing among the rising machines where a stairway led farther into the ruins. Jonah and Caine-8 would head right to cover a cave that led farther in like the stairs. Karen and Daniel would take the center area where a stairway led down to a Sync Plate looking object.

They all jumped down and used their various abilities to land safely. Karen picked up the helmet and analyzed the scratches and burns that covered its surface. She brought up her Ghost and it began to scan the broken relic.

"Daniel. You're gonna want to see this," Karen called out to Daniel, handing him the helmet.

Daniel took the helmet and summoned his own Ghost. The construct scanned the helmet and retrieved archived footage from its previous owner. The video feed showed the same chamber they were in except there were no Vex presence anywhere. A voice began to speak form the footage.

"They called me insane. Said I could never make it. But I did it. I'm in the Vault of Glass. I. Kabr! The mightiest of Titans!" Kabr chuckled as he let his accomplishment sink in. "Anyway. This footage is proof of my endeavors and an aid to any that come after me into this fabled hell. Well I am now in this chamber and behind me…" Kabr turned to show tos how a large glowing conflux. "… is some sort of Vex conflux. Very different from others I've seen. My Ghost in unable to retrieve any data from it except a string of Vex command code. It seems to be a command to draw themselves to this conflux and… sacrifice themselves. Hmph. Never took the Vex as a religious sort, but it seems they have their own crazy religion. There is also something here about an Axis mind being here known as the Templar. No signs of this Templar though. Coward. It's probably best I don't allow any Vex near this thing. Whatever the Vex want; surely I won't like it." A loud shriek pierced the room and nearly deafened Daniel. He realized it had come from the recording and watched as Kabr turned around looking for any signs of the source. "Vex. Seems they've come to force me from their temple. This is Kabr, Guardian class: Titan, signing off till later."

The recording ended and Daniel had his Ghost informed him there was more to the recording that needed to be decoded. The Ghost transmatted the helmet into his inventory for later analysis. As Daniel sent his Ghost away, a loud shriek pierced the room and froze his blood. The exact same shriek from the recording.

"Everyone! Eyes up for any confluxes. Do NOT let the Vex near them. No telling what'll happen if they get to them." Everyone acknowledged the orders and readied themselves for combat. Daniel was feeling tense. Most of his ammo was gone and given that Kabr's helmet was abandoned here; he had probably died here. The strongest of the Titans had fallen to the Vex and here was Daniel. Strong? Yes. Legendary? No. Invincible? Definitely not. Daniel shook his head. Didn't matter. Survival was all that did matter. The ground began to rumble as machines whirred ominously. A buzzing sounded form behind Daniel and he turned to see a Conflux form like the one in the footage.

"Everyone to me! The Conflux has appeared in the center back. Hold off the Vex." Everyone moved quickly to Daniel's side as the conflux appeared and hovered above the ground in silence.

"Vex to the right!" Caine called out firing his sniper rifle as he spoke. The first round bored straight through the first Goblin and buried itself in a second. Electricity arced between the two Vex and fried the second one's circuitry. Both fell to the ground but the others behind them continued forward as though nothing happened. Jonah turned his pulse rifle on the Vex and unleashed several bursts from his rifle. All found their target in the white casing at the center of a Goblin's chassis. The casing shattered and the Vex collapsed as his mind fluid drained from its body. More Goblins began to come from the left side and Karen began to let Thorn utter its sharp bark as the burning rounds pierced Goblin casings and burned the circuits inside. John joined her with his Fusion Rifle. The whir and discharge filed the air as Goblins were vaporized in its Void blasts.

Daniel stood back with Tatyana and stood guard over the Conflux. They were the last line against any Vex that slipped by. There was a crackle to Daniel's left and he jumped back as two Slap rounds cut through the air where he had been standing a moment ago. He turned and fired three rounds into the Goblin standing there and sprinted at it. The rounds stunned the machination and it looked up in time to see Daniel's fist slam into its chest. The enormous strength behind the Titan's punch was enough to pierce its casing and discharge more electricity than it could handle into its electronics. The Goblin twitched twice before collapsing into a lifeless heap of scrap.

"Daniel, behind you!"

Daniel turned to see a Goblin had approached the Conflux and had raised its arms to sacrifice itself as it was drawn into the Conflux. Daniel raised his rifle and fired as many rounds he could into the dying Goblin. Tatyana appeared form the other side of the Conflux and ripped the Goblin away from the glowing Conflux. She unleashed a torrent of rounds from her auto rifle into the Goblin and tossed it over the edge of the platform into the void below. Daniel moved back to the Conflux and ducked behind a pillar as a torrent of Slap rounds aimed for him. A chirp came from his commsystem and an image of his Ghost appeared in his HUD to let him know it was talking.

"I've decrypted more of the recording. This part is highly important." The Ghost fed more of the recording into Daniel's HUD and he watched as the footage of the Temple appeared again.

"The Vex sure are pissed. Those Fanatics sure were messy. They are determined to sacrifice themselves to these things. All the better for me. I've made several pieces of armor from the broken Vex. Two so far to be exact but a third is almost done. Just need a moment for these damn connections to set. Then there is this." Kabr held up a square of Vex metal with two poles standing out at opposite corners. He put his arm through a set of bands and pressed a button on the side. Energy shot forth form the shield to the edge of the poles. "I'd like to see the Vex destroy this. Or stand against this." Kabr picked up the shield and…

Daniel was forced to stop watching the playback when a Goblin took a shot at Daniel from the other side of the pillar. Daniel pulled a flashbang grenade from his belt and let it arc through the air before exploding among a group of Goblins that were coming up from the left. The grenade blinded their sensors and made them easy prey for John and Karen to clean up. Daniel returned to the recording to let it finish.

Kabr braced himself on the ground and let a large bolt of energy fire from the shield. "Just charge and fire. Vex energy seems to accelerate the charge process. Might be because of the destroyed darkness or the time based anomalies that seem to focus around them. Either way. More dead Vex mean faster charge. They also mean new parts to finish my armor." The recording showed Kabr looking himself over and being clad in freshly forged armor made from Vex plating. He picked up a half finished helmet with an empty socket in the center. "This will be the centerpiece. My new helmet to replace this old wreck I wear upon my head. But I digress. A lot by the way to whoever is watching. Watch out for the Vex Fanatics. Those crazed Goblins will charge at you and leave a marking agent. It sickens the body by tainting your Light. Those green puddles they leave cannot be removed. At least not yet. I'll figure something out. Oh. And watch out for the…" The recording stopped suddenly and Ghost informed Daniel that he needed to decode the rest of the recording.

Daniel sent away the recording and focused on the fight unfolding before him. Broken Vex were piling up as the fireteam cut down all they saw. Daniel had spent too long out of the fight and lowered his scout rifle. Time to contribute more than orders. A large group of Vex was massing at the center of the staircase and taking fire from all sides but not enough were being cut down to stop them from overwhelming the Conflux. Daniel focused the Light inside of him and electricity began to arc along his arms. He sprinted forward until he reached the edge of the stairs and leapt high into the air. The Light inside him guided him through the rest of the move that he had executed so many times before. His legs touched down first and then his fists connected with the ground in the center of the group of Goblins. A massive discharge emanated from the contact point and surged outward. The surge then focused and sent a wave forward that fried more Vex than the initial burst as it cut through another group at the bottom of the stairs. In a moment the arcs of electricity were gone and Daniel was jumping back to safety. His super ability, the Fist of Havoc, had decimated the Vex numbers.

"Damn, Daniel. About time you joined the fight," called Jonah as he pulled back the charging handle on his pulse rifle.

"Looks like I was a little late." Daniel turned as the Conflux disappeared.

"Does that mean it's over?" Tatyana asked disappointedly as she replaced the magazine in her auto rifle.

A rumble echoed through the chamber and all turned to face the center of the room where a shining light emerged through a large crack in the ground. A howl called through the room and from either side of the light began to funnel a swarm of enraged Goblins. Their casings arced with electricity and pulsed a sickening green.

Daniel realized that these must have been the Fanatics Kabr had talked about.

"Everyone keep your distance from these guys. That green stuff is deadly." Daniel fired as many rounds as he could into the approaching masses but there were too many. Everyone backed up as they took ground, each Fanatic they killed as they backed away left its own puddle of toxins. Daniel switched magazines and scanned for any threats. On his right he saw Karen trying to hold off the Fanatics that were swarming. Daniel saw one was sneaking behind her and prepare to fire but she was between him and the rogue Goblin. He raised his rifle and fired twice. Both rounds passed within an inch of Karen and staggered the Fanatic. Karen heard the rounds damage the rogue Fanatic and finished it off by tossing one of her spare knives at it. The impact sent it reeling over the edge and down into the blackness below.

The Fanatics just kept coming and coming. Everyone was nearly out of ammo when suddenly they stopped coming.

"Do you think it's over now?" asked John.

"I doubt it." Daniel replied as he picked up several packs of ammo from the ground. Nothing like fresh ammo to replenish lost stores.

Another deep rumble like before and two Confluxes suddenly appeared, one on the left and the other on the right. Daniel ordered everyone to split up into groups of three and guard each side. Things were only going to rougher.

The fireteam spent an hour in that temple fending off the Vex while their ammo supplies dwindled slowly. The Vex were determined to destroy the foreign invaders in their land at any cost to themselves.

Daniel slung his rifle on his back to grab his shotgun as it was the only thing that still had a trace of ammo left inside. He pumped the slide to make sure it was cocked and ready to go. He had been on the right side and several Fanatics were beginning to come down the tunnel. It wouldn't be much longer before they gave up their assault on these Confluxes. Daniel stepped aside as John tossed an orange fireball at the approaching group of Fanatics. The Fusion grenade connected with the first Fanatic and bonded to its casing. The fusion added to the grenades power and the explosion incinerated several other Fanatics.

"Nice shot, John. Now do it again," Daniel fired twice into the tunnel as John shook his head and looked at him with the blank stare of his helmet.

"If I could I would. Whoever thought of the recharge system did not expect situations like this. Or they were a bunch of jerks that thought it'd be funny to make us wait for lifesaving explosives."

"Great analysis oh wise Warlock." Karen joked as she fired the entire magazine of her hand cannon into the cave. She replaced the magazine in her cannon and tossed an Arcbolt grenade into the approaching masses. As the smoke cleared, the cave was empty and the Temple rumbled as the Confluxes disappeared again.

"Everyone gather at the back of the chamber. They're gonna swarm us again," Daniel ordered across the commchannel before following his own order. They all gathered and readied themselves for the onslaught that would come.

"Here, Daniel," He turned to see Caine toss him a synthesizer with a purple light on the side. Daniel had his Ghost take the synthesizer and break it down into the heavy ammo within for his rocket launcher. He unslung Truth and loaded the first three rockets into the launcher. The extra rounds would do well against the large groups of Fanatics that would be coming. With a lack of machine like precision the Fanatics rushed at the fireteam in their homicidal rage.

Daniel decided to attack first and launched himself high in the air with his Lift ability. He aimed Truth at the approaching Fanatics and pressed the trigger. The advanced tracker in the warhead locked onto the fourth Fanatic and aggressively sought him out. The warhead's primary effect kicked in within a meter of the target and exploded sending void charged shrapnel into the surrounding Fanatics. A massive puddle of the toxic goo the Fanatics produced painted the ground where they had once stood.

"Great shot. Watch out on the left side!" Caine called out as he fired his rifle into the approaching masses. His rifle clicked on an empty magazine and Caine slung the rifle on his back. He felt the Light gather in his hand as he focused it into the hellfire most Hunters were familiar with. The Light formed into a hand cannon known as the Golden Gun. The cannon was pure fire that was rumored to draw its power from the Sun itself as it delivered the concentrated Light with each trigger pull. Caine raised the fiery cannon and quickly pulled the trigger three times. Three bolts of fire lunged from the gun into the approaching Vex. The shots burned everything they touched and incinerated several Vex entirely.

The Fanatics began to push even harder and the Guardians pushed back harder. They fired everything they had into the oncoming masses. The Fanatics began to pile up on the ground as more and more were destroyed by the withering fire. Just like before, the Fanatics stopped coming and silence ensued before the rumble shook the chamber again.

"What now? Damn Minotaurs!" Jonah shouted as he reloaded his pulse rifle.

"Dammit, Jonah! Shut it or there will be damn Minotaurs after us," John shouted back as he pulled out his exotic scout rifle the MIDA Multitool. Jonah shook his head and turned as Daniel jumped up and scanned around for any signs of what was coming. The spots where the Confluxes had been all glowed. Soon three Confluxes appeared.

"Dammit. Three Confluxes around now. Okay. John and Caine head left. Karen has the right with Tatyana. Jonah you're with me in the back center. Get moving," Daniel ordered before closing the comlink. Everyone split up and took positions to hold off the approaching Vex. A group of Goblins began to approach from the bottom of the stairs and make their way to the center Conflux. Daniel fired his scout rifle, Cryptic Dragon, into the oncoming masses as Jonah began to pick off the farthest ones with his pulse rifle, Bad Seed Down, as the others continued to fire on the other Vex. Daniel wanted to let his super ability loose on the approaching Vex but he did not dare approach the Fanatics in fear of the toxins they produced. "Jonah! Use your super. Get them off of us!"

Jonah nodded his head and began to run at the approaching Vex. The Light formed a growing darkness as it drew on the endless void. The energy focused in his hand as he jumped up and hurled the growing energy at the Goblin horde. The energy detonated in the group of Goblins and scattered the broken machines like toys. The Nova Bomb was a tricky thing to master but it was devastating to groups of enemies, especially since the energy left behind a void that damaged all that passed through.

Weapons were constantly firing in the hot chamber. Daniel could feel himself breaking a sweat as he fought the endless Vex. This must have been how Kabr felt when he fought the Vex here. His weapons were almost out again and he only had a single rocket leftover for Truth. He unslung the launcher and fired the final rocket at a group of approaching Goblins to scatter them when Karen came onto the comchannel.

"Minotaurs! They're coming from the stairs!"

Daniel glared at Jonah but he was too busy to notice as he fought off a Goblin that had flanked behind him. Three Minotaurs charged up the stairs and broke off toward a different Conflux. Daniel charged at the Minotaur coming at his Conflux and felt the momentum build up in his armor. He launched off his back foot and slammed his shoulder into the Minotaur. The giant machine towered over Daniel but he was not phased as he jumped up and latched onto the back of the Minotaur. His fist was charged with the electricity that made it the Storm Fist and he slammed it into the behemoth as it violently tried to shake him off. Daniel landed his punches between the wild swipes of the Minotaur's arms until he felt himself be slammed against a pillar. He let go of the grip he had on the Minotaur and dropped to the ground. Several ribs felt like they had been shattered and the others felt like they had been pulverized. The burning sensation of his advanced healing process followed as he darted out of the way to avoid becoming a smear on the ground under the Minotaur's mechanical foot. Daniel leapt to his feet and jumped to the side as the Minotaur swung wildly at him.

Daniel had a plan to beat the Minotaur. All he needed was quick feet. The Minotaur was entirely focused on Daniel as he darted around the enraged machine. Daniel stayed in a place only long enough to draw the Minotaur's attention and let it chase him around. The big disadvantage to a Minotaur was that every swing it took would leave an opening to knock it over if exploited quickly. Daniel dodged back then to the side as the Minotaur was ready to end Daniel. Daniel rolled underneath a swing to the side and found himself at the edge of the chamber with only the darkness behind him. The Minotaur did not care about the edge being so close, only in ending its prey. It charged and swung its Torch Hammer down on the ground where Daniel had been a moment earlier. Daniel had rolled behind the Minotaur and kicked it from behind. The machine staggered and set down a foot to steady itself. The foot set down on empty air and it began to fall down into the darkness. As a final act, the Minotaur swung its arm around and latched onto Daniel's leg. Daniel was dragged to the ground and he began to slip as he was dragged down with the machine. Daniel felt the grip disappear on his leg but he was still moments away from falling voer the edge into the endless chasm below.

"Need some help over here! Now!" Daniel shouted as his grip on the slick surface of the chamber slipped. He was at the edge of the platform when one hand slipped. He was hanging over the edge with a single arm. Daniel swung his arm over in attempt to grab something but there weren't any handles to use. His only hand still holding on slipped and he found himself without anything holding him up. He was falling when something locked onto his arm. Daniel looked down to see that the darkness wasn't coming up to meet him. He looked up to see Jonah was dangling over the edge while Tatyana had him by the legs. Jonah was smiling wide behind his helmet as he had a firm grip on Daniel's arm with both hands.

"Seems like you're in quite a situation here," Jonah joked as Tatyana pulled both Jonah and Daniel up over the edge.

"Too close. Way too close," replied Daniel breathing hard from the near death.

"Well you decided to kick a Minotaur over the edge. You should've known what would happen," replied Tatyana as she helped up Daniel and handed his dropped rifle to him.

"Hmm. Didn't even notice that I had dropped it."

"So now what? The Confluxes are gone and no more Vex are attacking," stated John as he reloaded his scout rifle.

Daniel rotated his arm and checked the magazine in his rifle before looking around. "I have absolutely no clue."

"Well that's great. Is there anything in the recording Kabr took?" asked Karen.

"Let me check." Daniel summoned his Ghost and asked about the recording. The Ghost had finished decoding the ancient data and displayed the footage to Daniel's HUD. Kabr was messing with the shield again and was right where Daniel had left off.

"Watch out for the Oracles. Those things are bright green and when I say bright, I mean bright. You'll know the Oracles when you hear their tones. They each have a specific tone so listen up and you can tell when each has appeared." The recording went silent for a few moments as Kabr gathered parts from dead Goblins and began to forge them into a finished helmet. The center of the helmet was a Goblin's bright red eye. "Kabr's Battlecage. That's what I call this. Now. The footage became shaky as Kabr removed his helmet. He set down the helmet on the top of a raised platform facing the circular door. The helmet focused on Kabr and showed his face. He was an aged man. His hair was nearly all white and he was visibly tired. "I am certain of only one thing at this point. This place will be my end like everyone else's. You can't open the Vault by yourself. I did but I wasn't alone. Or was I? I don't know anymore. This place is messing with me, I know it." Kabr sighed before putting on his newly finished helmet. The bright eye glowing tis evil red. "I will die here but I will die fighting the Vex. My final act in this life will be the end of the Templar with this." Kabr held up the shield he had made. "I christen it the Aegis and with this I will leave an indelible mark on this place that will last for all of time no matter what the Vex try." A loud roar echoed through the chamber and Kabr made a final adjustment to the helmet to keep it in place. "Just sit there and watch." Kabr picked up the shield and waited for the source of the roar to reveal itself. A circle of light appeared in front of the door and a bright flash followed. The flash cleared and Daniel watched as a larger than normal Hydra appeared with a full shield around it. Kabr charged at the Templar and leapt high into the air with the Aegis. He raised it high before slamming it down into the ground at the base of the stairs. A large flash of light blinded Daniel. The helmet was thrown violently across the chamber before it came to rest where Karen had found it. The helmet rolled to face the Templar and showed a growing light filtering through a large crack in the ground. Kabr was nowhere in sight and the helmet footage ended.

Daniel dropped his shoulders and took a deep breath. He was tired and there was still two enemies standing before him. Daniel looked up as an eerie tune began to play through the chamber. Suddenly a bright light flashed and disappeared in front of the fireteam before others lights flashed briefly throughout the chamber.

"Those would be the Oracles."


End file.
